The worldwide success of Heartbreak High (Netflix) is good timing given so many queer-themed shows are getting cancelled. Queer As Folk (Stan), First Kill (Netflix) and Q Force (Netflix) are gone after just one season, while Gentleman Jack (Binge) and The Wilds (Amazon Prime) are gone after two series.
Heartbreak High’s (Netflix) fourth episode, hilariously titled “Rack Off”, is set at a Mardi Gras party. Written by Meyne Wyatt, it weaves together racism, police brutality and queer experimentation, and is a perfect example of why this show is such a hit.
Heartbreak High
Two other queer-themed shows are also trending on Netflix. The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone is just 28 minutes long, but beautiful and moving. Using home video of her when she was an eloquent child, but finishing just as she joined Neighbours, filmmaker Maya Newell has packed a hugely powerful message about trans kids into a short film.
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix) isn’t as life-affirming and is as gruesome as TV gets. Despite a score from Nick Cave and direction from Jennifer Lynch (daughter of David), it’s a tough watch despite a later focus on the racism and homophobia that allowed these murders to continue.
This is familiar territory for creator Ryan Murphy who didn’t hold back in showing the true horror of serial killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace (Netflix). What makes it worse this time is what Jeffrey Dahmer did to his victims’ bodies after he killed them, and this series shows everything
Cast wise, Niecy Nash (the neighbour) and Richard Jenkins (the father) are standouts, and hearing-impaired Rodney Burford is memorable in the sixth episode which focuses on a victim. If you can get through the first episodes, the second half is worth it.
Tom Cruise’s Interview with a Vampire in 1994 was a cop-out, but the new TV series about the vampire Lestat restores the homoeroticism that was crucial to the novel.
Sam Reid as Lestat Du Lioncourt and Jacob Anderson as Louis De Pointe Du Lac – Interview with the Vampire
Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire (Sunday on AMC) stars Sam Reid (The Newsreader) as Lestat, and Jacob Anderson as his lover Louis. It is sumptuously filmed in New Orleans and puts the film adaptation to shame.
Hollywood has often expunged queer themes from its movies, but queer filmmakers would often slip something back in to fly under the radar. Queer For Fear: The History of Queer Horror (Shudder) looks at the queer themes in such classics as Frankenstein, Dracula and Alfred Hitchcock.
Read more Mercado on TV columns here.
Mercado & Manning weekly TV podcast
Listen now on your favourite podcast platform for 30 minutes of TV reviews and recommendations every week from Andrew Mercado and James Manning. This week Andrew and James recommend This is England on BBC First, nervously tune into Monster – The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and discuss Kath & Kim, Thai Rescue and track down Aussie classic Sweet & Sour on YouTube.
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